Slain Marine’s family finds an ally in Trump

Quets’ father and brother-in-law talked to him Washington Examiner on Friday about separate meetings they had this week with Trump and Vance in Arizona, just days after learning that Nicholas, a 31-year-old Pima County resident, had been fatally shot after he was hit by another vehicle while driving in northern Mexico last Friday.

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The father, retired Army Lt. Col. Warren Douglas Quets, admitted he wasn’t initially sure what to expect from Trump before their meeting Thursday but was hopeful for the best.

“I didn’t know what to expect because he’s a TV star, a billionaire and a populist,” Quets said. “He looked at me, he looked at Nick’s picture. He had a tear in his eye and said, “Tell me what happened.” And he was really angry when we told him this story. (…) He said, “Tell me what I can do for you and your family.”

Quets said the conversation, which lasted 10 to 15 minutes while Trump campaigned in Tempe, Arizona, made him feel “like I’ve known (Trump) forever.”

“I can say, at least I know, if I know nothing else, that both Trump and Vance care about us,” said Quets, who spoke to reporters Washington Examiner on Friday morning during a telephone conversation, holding her son’s ashes in her lap.

“My family feels more comforted by this terrible event we are dealing with,” said retired Air Force Capt. Philip Sweet, brother-in-law and best friend of Nicholas Douglas Quets. “To feel comforted by someone we had never met but felt was part of our family and cared about us, really cared about us.”

During Trump’s remarks in Tempe on Thursday, Quets said Trump made eye contact with him and his family nearly a dozen times, as if to assure them of his sincerity.

The family met with Vance on Tuesday while he was campaigning in Tucson.

“(Vance) says, ‘You’re talking to me as JD. I want you to tell me exactly what I need to know, and I want you to tell me how I can help you,’” Quets said. “That’s what he said. So it was a really elegant move and sincere.”

The conversation with Vance lasted 15 minutes. Vance, a retired Marine, then took the stage he vowed in his public remarks in which he called for “kicking the cartels’ asses.”

“As an apolitical guy, you want the best for the country and that’s what I’ve dedicated my life to,” Quets said. “I left the meeting thinking I was ready to follow Vance anywhere.”

During his meeting with Trump, Quets outlined precisely what he expects from the U.S. government: direct involvement in an active investigation into the incident, followed by the extradition, prosecution and conviction of those involved in his son’s death.

“Sir, I would like for us at your inauguration to have a photo of these criminals and bandits being extradited at the border in cooperation with the Mexicans and my son-in-law who is a federal law enforcement officer (agent) to cuff the person responsible for this and bring him to the US in to bring to justice,” Quets said.

Trump told Quets: “We’ll do it on January 20 if I get elected,” his father said.

Both Marine family members shared information with: Washington Examiner earlier this week, elected U.S. government officials had not contacted them to offer condolences or discuss what to expect from the investigation.

Drawing on their years of combined experience in the military and federal law enforcement, the two said President Joe Biden was informed of Quets’ death while in Mexico as part of his daily briefing last Saturday.

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“I have no doubt that on Saturday morning in his presidential briefing, the President of the United States was informed that a United States Marine Corps veteran had been killed in Mexico. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Sweet said.

“How is it possible that this Marine died 30 minutes south of the border?” Quets said. “I haven’t heard from anyone at all, elected or appointed government officials. And I begged for it to the point that I wrote to the console yesterday and said, “Don’t worry about it anymore.” “I’m going to contact (President Claudia Sheinbaum) in Mexico and ask her to help engage the United States.”

Sheinbaum was elected earlier this year and took office on October 1. Time will tell how her administration will deal with the growing Mexican cartels that rake in billions of dollars each year from smuggling and human trafficking, drug and firearms smuggling, and other nefarious operations around the world.

Local police, who responded to the scene after Quets was shot on October 18, have for now handed over the investigation to Mexican federal police.

Quets wanted the U.S. government to be jointly involved or take over if Mexico agreed.

However, in the face of a lack of communication from the Biden-Harris administration, the family said it would keep pressure on Mexico and the United States in the meantime until January, when they hoped Trump would be inaugurated.

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“Speaking on behalf of my family, we have 100% confidence in their leadership and their ability to bring justice to Nick and handle this case appropriately,” Sweet said.

The White House and Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.